Bella Thorne Isn't the First Celebrity to Channel Marilyn Monroe

Douglas Kirkland’s 1961 photo shoot with Marilyn Monroe is one of her most famous. (Photo: Douglas Kirkland/Corbis via Getty Images)

Photographer Douglas Kirkland‘s 1961 photo shoot helped to shed an intimate light on one of the most tantalizing figures in Hollywood at the time, actress and model Marilyn Monroe. For the famous photo series “An Evening With Marilyn Monroe,” the star posed unclothed and wrapped in white bed sheets. She apparently asked everyone except Kirkland to leave the room while shooting — which helped in producing the unique, natural quality of the photos.

Although one might deem the project inimitable, many stars have actually attempted to channel the iconic photos of Monroe for different publications. For Bazaar.com’s latest project, the magazine recreated some of the artful images from Kirkland’s shoot with the help of outspoken teen star Bella Thorne.

Like Monroe, the 19-year-old posed with nothing but white silk sheets for the spread, which was shot by Mona Kuhn and styled by Kathryn Typaidos.

Thorne posted an image from the shoot in late March, but later deleted the post. At the time, she captioned the image with a quote from Monroe, “The body is meant to be seen and not covered up.”

While Thorne’s shoot mirrors one version of the famous sex symbol, other celebrities have channeled versions of Monroe as well.

“Kendall had come to London for the Love 17 launch as she’d photographed the cover stars, and Rankin hadn’t shot with her before, and had really wanted to make this video with her,” Grand said about the project. ”She had the time so we just did it. It was a super fun day as ever with Kendall.”

Jenner’s older sister, Kim Kardashian, also posed as Monroe for Vogue Brasil‘s June 2015 issue. Unlike Jenner’s recreation, Kardashian styled her hair like Monroe’s, as her hair was the same shade at the time of the shoot.

But not everyone was a fan. Kanye West, husband of Kim, had some choice words to say about Upton’s cover. “Kate Upton ain’t Marilyn Monroe,” he said during an appearance on a popular radio show in 2013. “Kim is Marilyn Monroe. You know that. She was controversial; she’s controversial.”

Contrary to his opinion, Upton has been picked by many publications to channel the actress. For Love magazine’s advent calendar in 2017, the actress garnered comparisons to the icon.

Singer and actress Miley Cyrus for the March 2014 issue of German Vogue. (Photo: German Vogue)

The photo, in which Cyrus is featured topless, was shot by renowned photographer Mario Testino.

In 2008, two famous celebrities also gave Marilyn vibes on magazine covers. Lindsay Lohan posed with just a pink piece of fabric for New York magazine’s spring 2008 fashion issue, recreating Bert Stern’s photographs of Monroe’s last photo shoot before her death, “The Last Sitting.”

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Lindsay Lohan was featured on New York magazine’s spring fashion issue in 2008. (Photo: New York magazine)

Lohan’s cover was photographed by Bert Stern himself. He was interested in picking Lohan for the project because she fell under the umbrella of “controversial women” and he believed “she had a lot more depth to her,” he told New York.

Nicole Kidman also posed as Monroe for Harper’s Bazaar Australia’s March issue in 2008.

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Nicole Kidman was featured on the cover of ‘Harper’s Bazaar Australia’ in March 2008. (Photo: Harper’s Bazaar Australia)

Across the cover read the line “Some Like It Hot” — a reference to one of Monroe’s most famous films.

An avid Monroe fan, Madonna was once quoted as saying, “I’d love to be a memorable figure in the history of entertainment in some sexual, comic, tragic way. I’d like to leave the impression that Marilyn Monroe did, to be able to arouse so many different feelings in people.” The pop singer posed as Monroe for Vanity Fair in 1991.

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Madonna’s 1991 Vanity Fair cover. (Photo: Vanity Fair)

Monroe left a legacy and level of star power that many celebrities have attempted to achieve — and many more will likely continue to do so for years to come.